EPA Announces Plans To Dilute Gas In May
The EPA has announced a plan to begin "fortifying the domestic fuel supply" by implementing a waiver that would allow for the sale of E15 fuel from May 1 to May 20. The gasoline Americans buy at the pump is already diluted with ethanol (a distilled corn alcohol), but the new waiver will increase the ethanol content of pump gasoline, making it simultaneously cheaper and less efficient. Owners of older vehicles made prior to 2001 could be at greater risk given their vehicles' less modern powertrains.
The gas most Americans buy at the pump right now is known as E10. However, some states impose restrictions on the sale of E10 fuel, which the new EPA waiver would eliminate. The term denotes a ratio of ethanol to gasoline: E10 is 10 percent ethanol blended with 90 percent gasoline. The EPA's new waiver would lift restrictions on the sale of E15 fuel, which has an ethanol content of 15%.
The EPA has issued waivers to lift certain restrictions on the sale of the fuel blend previously. The Agency did so in April last year and in 2022, similarly citing an energy crisis during the "summer diving season." Ordinarily, the EPA bans the sale of E15 gas from June to September. E15 gas evaporates more quickly than less ethanol-heavy fuel, especially in the higher temperatures common from June to September in much of the US. The evaporation of ethanol can increase air pollution.
Additionally, older vehicles made prior to 2001 are more sensitive to high-ethanol fuel. The penalty most Americans will pay is twofold: higher ethanol content in fuel leads directly to both worse air quality and reduced fuel economy. As a result of the more rapid evaporation of ethanol in fuel during high temperatures, air quality will fall. Americans may be paying less at the pump for E15 gas, but they'll also need to fill up more frequently. The EPA says most vehicles will experience a 1.5% to 2% decrease in fuel economy. That means an SUV getting an average of 25 miles per gallon will instead return around 24.6 miles per gallon at a 1.5% loss.
In most instances, these EPA fuel waivers are temporary. They lift after a certain timespan, and presumably, previous restrictions and ethanol contents will revert to the pre-waiver standard. However, the American war on Iran drags on, and it's possible the EPA could examine future waivers should fuel reserves continue to tighten with the bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz.